They want state to follow the proposed land acquisition Bill likely to be passed soon by Parliament

The Land Acquisition (Rehabilitation and Resettlement) Bill, 2011, which is close to being passed by Parliament after political parties arrived at a consensus on it last month, has found supporters among those fighting forceful displacement and land acquisition for industrial projects in Maharashtra. On the occasion of Maharashtra day on May 1, the Farmers’ Anti-corridor Struggle Action Committee, an outfit of peasants from 78 villages of Raigad district, submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, demanding complete halt to ongoing land acquisition for the ambitious Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project till the new law comes into force.

“The state government must immediately halt the current acquisition process and follow the Central government guidelines against forceful acquisition. The Bill concerning land acquisition and rehabilitation is still being discussed by Parliament; then why the hurry in acquiring land from farmers? Or is it a deliberate ploy to not let the provisions of the new Act be applicable to the ongoing acquisitions? ” the committee demanded to know in the memorandum.

Industrial corridor will occupy over 27,000 ha in Raigad

Three talukas from the Raigad district-Mangaon, Roha and Tala-stand to lose 67,500 acres (27, 316 hectares) of land to the Dighi Port Industrial Region, under which five industrial areas have been planned; they are Roha-Mangaon Industrial area (3,367 hectares), Palasgaon Industrial Area (1,173 hectares), Pansai Industrial Area (2,829 hectares), Vavedivali Industrial Area (1,255 hectares) and Nizampur Industrial Area (4,508 hectares). According to official data, nearly 18 per cent geographical area of Maharashtra will be impacted by DMIC. In absolute area terms, 56,760 sq km will be influenced by the multi-billion dollar project.

DMIC, a US $90 billion mega-infrastructure project, is to be implemented with financial and technical aid from the government of Japan. The DMIC region comprises parts of seven states (Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra) and two Union Territories (Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu) and is planned along the1,483-km-long western Dedicated Railway Freight Corridor. In Raigad alone, at least 67,500 acres (27, 316 hectares) in 78 villages are set to be acquired for the project by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). Forty-two of these 78 villages have already been served land acquisition notices.

After an open meeting of hundreds of farmers from Raigad district at the historic Azad Maidan, senior member of the farmers’ committee, Ulka Mahajan, detailed the reasons for their opposition. “The state government is making use of the controversial Maharashtra Industrial Development Act, 1961, hastily for DMIC land acquisition to avoid applying provisions of the new land acquisition and rehabilitation Act. There is more space for resisting forceful land acquisition in the new law. While consent of 70 per cent land owners is required in public-private-partnership projects, in private projects consent of 80 per cent land owners is obligatory,” explained Mahajan.

Since April 10, the farmers’ action committee has been protesting outside the office of the sub-divisional officer in Mangaon against land acquisition which began in mid-2012. “The protests will go on till May 6 as 42 of the 78 villages that have been served land acquisition notices will have finished their individual daily protests at the Mangaon office. Veteran peasants’ leader N D Patil will then take up the issue with the chief minister,” said Mahajan.

Despite repeated attempts, officials from the industries department remained unavailable for comment.

After 19 months of hectic negotiations between the government and opposition parties, the land bill is expected to be passed by the Parliament soon. On April 18, the government claimed that all major political parties have reached a “broad consensus” on the bill [1]. The industry was quick to express apprehensions about it. “This bill, as per our understanding, will further prolong the process of land acquisition for industry. It would take three to five years on an average to acquire land. Moreover, we understand that the bill still provides for consent from 80 per cent of the affected families which will delay the process and also act as a deterrent for the industry,” said A Didar Singh, secretary general, Federation of Indian Chambers for Commerce and Industry, in an official statement on the same day.

You must be aware of the case of physical violence on Mr. Vaibhav Ghadage
at Maharashtra’s Satara district. Mr. Vaibhav Ghadage was one of the TISS
alumina (batch – 2008-10). He was allegedly attacked by a group of goons
belonging to particular caste. This attack was in relation with the earlier
case of him being a key witness to his uncle’s murder (Mr. Madhukar) on
April 26, 2007.

The TISS community is deeply disturbed by the brutal assault to one of his
family member. Therefore, we would like to condemn this incident by having
a protest demonstration at Azad Maidan on 4th February 2013. We would also
like to announce the charter of demands that we want, so that justice can
be given to Mr. Vaibhav Ghadage. Along with that this demonstration will
also condemn caste based violence and the inactiveness of the state to
respond to it.

The approximate number of students expected to come for the protest is
around 200 to 300. We will also be joined by some local students and
activists.
Therefore, on behalf of the institute we would like to invite you for the
demonstration. The details of demonstration are given below:

Mumbai, 10th : Ghar Bachao ghar Banao Andolan withdraws its 10 days long agitation, after having received certain concrete decisions and directions for further process on the issues related to housing rights and land scam with corruption in Mumbai.

The State Government has agreed to enquiry by the Principal Secretary, Housing into SRA projects in 6 localities- Golibar, Ambedkar Nagar, Mulud, Ramnagar-Ghatkopar, Chandivali, Sion-koliwada and Indira-nagar Jogeshwari, defining the modus operandis involving all stakeholders and holding public hearings.

Today, hundreds of women and men from various slums reached Mantralaya. They insisted and made their way into Mantralaya, upto 6thfloor and at least 500 people filed their individual applications for Rajiv Awas.

The Municipal Corporation of Mumbai through the Commissioner, has agreed to provide all amenities in slums we have listed from eastern and western suburbs as per 5- A of Slum Act, a review for the same will be carried in next 7 days.

It’s promised by MCGM to look into the violations of law, if any in Sion Koliwada and Jeevannapar redevelopment projects as well as wherever public amenities are destroyed before people getting shifted out.

MCGM has promised to hold meeting of officials and consider our recommendations to hold public hearings at level of community / unit of 3000 families, during development planning process- Existing and Planned Land Use.

With all the issues responded to, the Andolan decided to step back and out of Azad Maidan but with a warning that if all decisions are implemented and promises not fulfilled, we will march straight to Mantralaya with intensified struggle.

10 days long battle converted Azad Maidan into a battleground, but with much creative activities beginning with prayer in the morning and spirited songs till late night. Young activists burnt candles at night and returned with mashaals to their homes, only to return back early in the morning. Food came from different communities in slums as well as from supporter organisations. This andolan paved a new way in the arena of people’s movements.

Struggle of Basti Dwellers and Working Class Intensifies at Azad Maidan

Maharashtra Government Continues to Buck Responsibility

Mumbai, January 7 : Government of Maharashtra today also failed to respond to the rightful demands of housing of thousands of urban poor and lower middle class working people of Mumbai. Anshan of 30 representatives from various slums continues, so does the sit-in by thousands at Azad Maidan.Today Azad Maidan was packed with more than 8,000 people demanding their right to dignified housing and right to land. Even as government refuses to address the issues, more and more people are joining the dharna everyday and mood remained upbeat and slogans ofwe shall fight, we shall win continued to reverberate.

In spite of Azad Maidan being so near to Mantralaya, no official or representative of Government has come even once to have a dialogue with people or to receive the memos prepared by citizens of Mumbai who have every right to demand answers to questions that concern their lives. This raises some serious doubts about Government’s intentions to consider the problems and hardships faced by the majority of the citizens of Mumbai.

A delegation also went and briefed the State Human Rights Commission on the prevailing situation in the bastis where basic human rights are being violated everyday due to illegal demolitions, evictions and land grab by powerful builders. A similar complaint was also lodged with the National human Rights Commission.

The Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, on its 7th day, showed solidarity and extended its support to the protest rally of Jain community of Mumbai, here at Azad Maidan, to condemn the recent attacks on Jain Temples and saints. GBGB strongly believes in non-violence and has taken up the path of Satyagrah to demand the rights of the people.

Support to the struggle continued to pour in from all over the country. Shri Ramdas Athavale of RPI, Smt. Ruksana Siddqui of Samajwadi Party came to Azad Maidan and supported the demands of implementation of Rajeev Awas Yojana and investigation into massive corruption by the builders which has led to serious deprivation and violation of rights of thousands. Many other senior activists also came to strengthen the Andolan and lent their voices of solidarity.

People are determined to continue and even intensify the struggle until the demands are fulfilled.

January 5, Mumbai: Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan agitation entered its 6th day today with 30 representatives from various slums of Mumbai, who had been fasting for the last 24 hours, broke their fast and the next 30 representatives began their fast. People who observed fast, with only water to drink, spoke passionately about the need to struggle against injustices happening to them in their bastis and middle class localities . Shri Ajay Palande, from Jogeshwari Indira Nagar, while breaking his fast, shouted the slogan “ Bhooke pyaase Ladenge, Andolan Chalayenge”. “We are trapped in the cruel web of SRA- Builders- duplicate notices- lack of basic amenities- fake allotments and have been fighting for the last 12 years. Now we wont go anywhere, they( the Government) have to come to hear us”, said Smt. Kanta Behen from Chandiwali. Today Shri Rashi Azmi from All India Milli Council, Smt. Anita Vyas from Ambujwadi, Smt. Sabrunnisa Saha from Adarsh Nagar, Shri. Lakhan Mandal from Mandala, Smt. Gauri from Malwani 8. no., Moh. Shamim Ansari, and 24 others from different slums and middle class localities are fasting for their land rights and right to dignified housing.

While there has been no response from the Government today also, people are determined to continue their agitation. Letters of appeal to the Government and the Centre are being drafted by the people and the supporters to take immediate decisions and interventions on the demands of the Andolan.Support from various organisations, senior activists and students is coming from all over the country which has intensified the energy and increased the enthusiasm of Andolankaris here at Azad Maidan. Smt. Surekha Dalvi, Smt. Indavi Tulpade, Shri. Rambhau Wadu from Adivasi Sangathan and Shoshit Jan Andolan, Shri Byaneshwar Shedge and Shri Gyanoba Bhikule from Mosekhore Bachao Jan Andolan (fighting Lavasa), and many others came to show their solidarity with and strengthen the Andolan

2,715 fake houses found in SRA, illegal sale of which amounts to Rs 1,023 Crore

Land being appropriated amounting to Rs 7,411 Crore

An Alternative Draft of the Sexual Harassment Bill Released

Mumbai, 4th January: Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, with National Alliance of People’s Movements, has always maintained that the Slum Rehabilitation projects are the breeding ground for corruption. With the nexus of builder-politician-bureaucrats, they have been creating havoc by evicting people in name of rehabilitation and have neither given alternative houses nor any right to land whether belonging to Central Government or State Government or a private party; where they have been residing for decades. If the people question or demand to see the list of residents or details of plan and land use, they are traced and harassed, even filed cases against.

In fact it is because of huge vested interest in such schemes which is so strong, that the nexus is not ready to do away with their huge profit. The worst part, however, is that in spite of being officially eligible for huge profit invested in the scheme, the elite nexus has become the open ground for further irregularities and gained much more fraudulent land through corruption.

Our own investigation in only some of the SRA projects suggest a massive scam with top builders involved in this loot where the land has been appropriated without people’s consent. Moreover, they have also also included fake allottees in the list of ‘to be rehabilitated’ families, which are sold in open market to outsider ineligible persons. Each of these amounts to earning crores of rupees by the builders and their associate politicians and others.

Our investigations in 9 projects alone show a corruption of 7,411 Crore, in some cases whole land has been appropriated illegally and flats sold, flouting all norms and laws.

622 fake cases in 8 Socities of Antop Hill, of which 300 to go to the builder

622

40 Lakh

2,48,80,00,000

2

All affidavits are fake in Antop Hill 7 Housing Socities, people have demanded cancellation of Annexure 2

976

40 Lakh

3,90,40,00,000

3

Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagar (Mulund)

127

45 Lakh

57,15,00,000

4

Golibar (Khar)

690

30 Lakh

2,07,00,00,000

5

Ramnagar (Ghatkopar)

300

40 Lakh

1,20,00,00,000

TOTAL

10,23,35,00,000

It is the people’s struggle that has challenged this and even stalled the so called progress even if facing atrocities by them. We will continue to challenge them at every level.

Thousands of people on the fourth day continued to sit in Azad Maidan, demanding written time bound commitment from the Chief Minister. Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan also released an alternative draft endorsed by National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), titled “The Prevention of Atrocities Against Women and Establishment of Special Courts Act, 2012”. It was released by women from bastis who are the real victims and also the real champions and who shared their experiences from ground regarding the struggle that women go through in slums and otherwise.

Murzban Shroff, author and supporter of the Andolan recited his powerful poem, “Who are the real Rapists?” on the occasion of the release of the Bill. The poem talks about the fact that not only individuals, but also corrupt and exploitative system rapes. And it is not only women who are raped but also those disadvantaged people who are deprived of their rights. Depriving someone of their rights is also a form of rape. And therefore, all those who are demanding their rights of land and housing are fighting the rapists.

JISKI KAHAANI USKI ZUBAANI

Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan [BMMA] is a secular, autonomous and rights based Muslim women’s movement in india established in 2007 which works for justice, peace, democracy and development within and outside the Muslim community. It is leading movement of Muslim women in India with a membership base of 35000 women, more than 10 lakh beneficiaries and an active leadership in 12 states across the country. BMMA addresses the marginalization of the community through Muslim women’s own active leadership at the local, state and national level. It facilitates the emergence of Muslim women’s and girl’s leadership so that they can lead themselves and the larger community towards social, educational, economic and legal development.

BMMA is active in 12 states across the country and its leaders receive many cases of Muslim women who have been orally and unilaterally divorced by their husbands. Muslim husbands have evolved innovative methods of divorcing their wife. For instance one husband himself wrote the khulanama and made his wife sign it. In another instance, a father in law divorced his daughter in law on behalf of his son. There are many instances of women divorced through sms, emails, phone calls, letters and of course orally. Many qazis who are paid by the husband send divorce notices to the wife without even giving an opportunity to the wife to give her side of the story.

Although Quranic injunctions demand arbitration before divorce proceedings, this injunction is clearly forgotten by the husband and the ulemas who justify the practice of oral divorce in the name of religion. As a result Muslim women are deprived of her rights mentioned in the Quran and are subject to harassment by husband and unscrupulous qazis.

To highlight the issue of oral, unilateral divorce, BMMA through its national annual convention is holding a national public hearing of victims of oral unilateral divorce. Women from Maharashtra, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh will narrate the different ways in which they have been divorced by their husbands.

To put an end to this heinous practice BMMA demands that the Muslim family law must be codified. The activists of BMMA have been working on a draft law since its inception. Many consultations have been held across the country to arrive at the various clauses mentioned in the draft.

Through this Convention, BMMA wants the state to hear the voices of Muslim women. The state now can no longer ignore this voice. It must treat Muslim women as citizens of this country and must put an immediate ban on the practice of oral/unilateral divorce.

Patil rubbished claims that some of the women constables committed suicide while some others left service. He told the legislative council that no action would be initiated against senior officers who had allegedly tried to hush up the matter.

“There arises no question of their (women constables) morale being affected as a result of the actions of their seniors because no such thing (hushing up of the matter) ever happened. Even though molestation did take place, nobody has committed suicide or left the service as a result of the incident,” he said in a written reply to the legislative council during the Question Hour on Tuesday.

Patil’s statement is significant as no senior government authority had at the time presented a clear picture of what actually transpired during the rioting in which two persons died and 63 people were injured. Even though the molestation incident was officially denied at the onset, the incident did eventually find a mention in the charge sheet.

The police found it difficult to convince the traumatized victims to come forward, register complaints and identify the accused. The nine women constables had also identified four accused during an identification parade at Taloja jail in Thane. Taking note of the incident, the women’s commission, too, had conducted an inquiry and submitted its report to the government. So far, the report has not being made public by the home department.

Patil was replying to a question posed by Shiv Sena‘s Neelam Gorhe and Vinayak Raut, among several other members of the council. When was Patil asked what steps the government took to ensure proper care for the constables, he merely said that their senior staff had provided them counselling.

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh on Saturday, Sep 1 claimed that Thackeray family itself belonged to Bihar and had settled in Dhar in Western Madhya Pradesh from where they migrated to Mumbai. Hence, is it true that Thackeray himself is an “infiltrator” in Mumbai, Maharashtra?

Criticising Mr Thackeray and discussing about hisfamily backgrounds, Digvijay Singh said, “If you look at the history of Mumbai, then it is a city offishermen. Rest all have settled there from outside.”

Digvijay Singh‘s shocking statement came when the MNS supremo showed his rage against the Biharis, the people who have migrated from Bihar to Mumbai.

Thackeray, whose party has often launched violent campaigns against Hindi-speaking people in Maharashtra, was reacting to a media report that Bihar chief secretary Navin Kumar has written to Mumbai police commissioner voicing displeasure over the arrest of the youth for vandalising the martyr’s memorial during Azad Maidan protest on Aug 11.

Thackeray said that the Bihar chief secretary had threatened legal action against Mumbai police.

“The letter says Mumbai police has to get in touch with the Bihar government before picking up any person from their state. If Mumbai crime branch picks up people from their state without the knowledge of the Bihar police they would face legal action,” he said referring to the purported latter.

“If the Bihar government tries to become a hurdle in the way of a police investigation, then my party would dub every Bihari in Maharashtra as an infiltrator and would force them to leave the state,” an angry Thackeray said.

Bombay was renamed Mumbai in 1995. It was among the first things the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition sarkar did on coming to power in Maharashtra.

You might think the news has yet to reach ’em posh people who still refer to their quarter of the metropolis as ‘South Bombay’. In fact, it’s SoBo now!

Bombay, remember, is the New York of the East: SoHo, SoBo. Folks at SoHo might be deeply embarrassed at this likening. But for SoBo, appearance is what matters, darling.

Why not SoMu? Don’t even go there! South here is not about geography, stupid. Dude, it’s all about attitude. The Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena can have their Mumbai so long as they let SoBo residents keep up their pretences.

Could SoBo symbolise a cosmopolitan resistance to the chauvinism of the Senas? Banish the thought, the SoBoietis love their Thackerays. (Perhaps Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, too.) Call it the mutual attraction of the bold and the beautiful.

At five-star get-togethers during the 1990s, SoBo’s beautiful people never squirmed when Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray routinely referred to Indian Muslims as “green snakes”. What to do: Muslims need to be taught a lesson.

Mr Thackeray, incidentally, was the main accused in the Srikrishna Commission’s report on the anti-Muslim pogrom of 1992-93. Commission reports: who cares? (One of the honourable exceptions among the glitterati and the celebrati was Dev Anand who walked out of a meeting of Bollywood biggies at which Thackeray senior tried to spread the communal virus in the Hindi film industry.)

That was then. Now we have a new kid on the block. And isn’t he cute: Raj Thackeray! We are told that on August 21 the new ‘saviour’ took ‘a mature and restrained approach’, reinvented himself, performed ‘a political masterstroke’, ‘acquired a halo overnight’. How does a fire-breathing, violence-espousing, rabble-rouser turn into an instant ‘rockstar’? Well, you better believe it for SoBo Mouthpiece (Shobhaa De’s August 25 column, Raj ki aag: The new face of Thackeray) says so.

SoBoietis can do all the fawning and swooning they like. But the fact remains that shorn of all the rapturous adjectives and hyperboles, the picture that Raj Thackeray painted of himself and his MNS on August 21 was far from pretty. Except for the gullible, it was true-to-type, ominous and worse. In less than 24 hours, his sainiks were to bare their fangs again. But let me not run ahead of the story. Let what Raj Thackeray did and said that day speak for itself first.

The rally was ostensibly to demand punitive action against the then police commissioner Arup Patnaik’s allegedly abject failure to enforce rule of law during the August 11 rally at Azad Maidan organised by some Muslim organisations. Though police had only given permission for a meeting at Azad Maidan, in characteristic style, Raj Thackeray insisted on a five-km rally from Marine Drive to Azad Maidan in brazen defiance of the police order, thus creating a traffic chaos for several hours.

In short, break the law to protest the (earlier) breakdown of law. The “savior of Mumbai” presumably must be permitted a few indulgences.

At the Azad Maidan, Raj Thackeray hammered home three points.

First, he claimed it was Bangladeshi Muslims who resorted to violence on August 11. In a thought-provoking article he wrote in 2006, former editor and Shiv Sena-backed Rajya Sabha MP, had rightly observed that ‘pro-Pakistani Muslims’ and ‘Bangladeshi Muslims’ are but euphemisms while you target Indian Muslims as a whole. Why the euphemisms? To escape possible prosecution under the anti-hate speech provisions of the Indian Penal Code.

Second, Raj Thackeray took great care, reminding the police rank and file that they were Marathi manoos above all else and only incidentally upholders of the Indian Constitution and the rule of law. Nothing new here. This was exactly the tactic employed by Thackeray senior during the late ’80s and the early ’90s: stoking the parochial instincts of the cops, communalising them right under the nose of a benign state. The outcome of his noxious brainwash was the shameful partisan conduct of the Mumbai police during the 1992-93 carnage.

That the young Thackeray’s message immediately hit home was evident when a constable in uniform, Pramod Tawde, marched up to the dias, presented a flower to the new messiah and proceeded to address the media in gross violation of all rules.

Talk to top police officers and you’ll know how alarmed they are at this ominous turn of events. Yeh andar ki baat hai, police hamare saath hai (To tell you a secret, the police are with us)” was an oft-repeated chant of the murderous mobs in Gujarat in 2002. SoBoietis seemingly don’t lose much sleep over such mundane concerns.

Thirdly, at a tangent to his agenda for the day, Raj Thackeray ridiculed the dalits’ recent demand that instead of gifting it to the builder’s lobby, the Maharashtra government should reserve the defunct Indu Mills’ plot for a memorial to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Within hours, outraged dalits from several parts of Maharashtra were burning effigies of Raj Thackeray.

Twenty-four hours later, a bunch of MNS toughies led by their corporator Sandeep Deshpande mercilessly pummelled a small group of dalit men and women who protested against the ‘insult to Babasaheb’ near Raj Thackeray’s residence. Among the women victims of the MNS ire were Puja Badekar and Vijayta Bhonakar.

“They misbehaved with us in the same fashion that some Muslims misbehaved (sexual assault) with police women constables at Azad Maidan on August 11,” they told this writer. Despite a heavy bandobust the cops took their time in restraining the attackers. When the victim dalits tried lodging a criminal complaint at the Shivaji Park police station, they were threatened with a ‘rioting’ charge and driven away.

All this, of course, is not news for the media, much less for our beautiful people. SoBo thinks a film on the new saviour with the title Raj ki aag might be a great idea. I think Aag ka raj may be more appropriate.

The writer is co-editor of Communalism Combat and general secretary, Muslims for Secular Democracy